Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1887-08-12
RAILROAD ACCIDENT.
ONE UNTONIAN KILLED
AND TWO INJURED.

THE FATAL sPOT-HIGH SPEED AND RE-
yEBsED CURvEs-CAPT. e. L. CURTIS
K1LLED-INTEEv~y WITH sTAUN-
TON PASSENGERS WHO WERE IN THE
WRECK.
&C. SC, &C.
On Thursday afternoon the Louisville
Express going East on the Chesapeake
& Ohio division arrived at Staunton
one hour behind time. 1t had come
from SWoope's to Stanton, it was
stated by passengers. at the rate Of a mile
a inmate and several said they had to hold
on to the back of the seats. They said the
speed was terrific. On it were several we'll
known gentlemen. Mr.. FL, W. Fuller, the
General Passenger Agent of the road;
Councilman E. d. Starke, of Richmond;
Maj Ben Nash and others who were
going to Richmond. Beside those
there were Messrs. Alexander f.
Robertson, and W. z. Tams, of
the Augusta National Bank, who got
off at Stanton. About nineteen miles
east Of Staunton and about 81 miles east
of Alton, is Greenwood Station, the station
lying On the eastern side of aslnall tunnel
there. For little way the approach to
| this tunnel is straight, but for a consider
able way before that, the track runs along
the side of the mountain something like q
reversed %. At that point the road is cut
( out of the side of the mountain and the
precipice below is well grown up with
| trees, some mere saplings and others
| large and thick. After an almost sheer
| descent of some twenty-five feet the old
| stage road is reached and then beyond
that is descent Of much greater depth.
| AT the first curve of the q. there is cut,
| then a level place about eight feet wide,
aud then a clear shoot from the track
down the SIDE of the mountain.
| 1t was at $50 that the train reached this
| point. 1t consisted of baggage car,
smoking Car, ladies Car and two sleepers.
The conductor was Capt. CAson, and the
! engineer was Lorenzo Hall. The train
| had been running at such high rate
Of speed that Councilman Starke had
| observed to a friend, 'lf this is kept up
| much longer the train can't stay on the
| track" TIE train was full one and in the
| ladies car were about forty persons, most
| IL men, but including several ladies and
| few children. In turning the first curve
| Of the % the cars leaned so much to the
| left that passengers feared they would
turn over, and it was in recovering from
! this to make the next curve, that at $50
| z. Nj, the ladies car left the track, ran
brief space On the ties, ground its way
along the side of the cut and then getting
open space rolled down the side Of the
mountain. 1t broke the smaller trees
that were in its way, and which pierced it
ia some places, and about twenty five feet
down brought up against two large trees,
but for which It would have gone down
J the mountain and over the wagon road
In the twinkllng of an eye, one man was
| killed, another fatally wounded and about
! twenty persons more or less hurt. The
unhurt passengers climbed out of the car
themselves while those who could not
| help themselves were gotten out by oth7l
ers. Only this one car went down the
mountain, the others were deralled but
did not leave the embankment, the two
sleepers merely jumped off. kept their
! trucks and staid on the narrow, level
| ground. The wounded were put on seat
I cushions taken out of the cars. and being
put into freight Gals were carried down
to the hotel, the ether side OF the tunnel.
DR.. M. L. McCue and other physicians
arrived on the spot about five minutes
] after The accident and attended to the
! wounded.